


Why Tony Stark Hates Autumn, But Loves The Fall

by Fluffypanda



Series: They fell for each other in Autumn [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Meet-Cute, Sweaters, Thanksgiving, fall - Freeform, leaves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 15:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8213597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffypanda/pseuds/Fluffypanda
Summary: Mother Nature seems to be doing everything in her power to remind Tony why he hates Autumn, then he smacks into someone who'll change his mind.





	

Tony Stark REALLY fucking hated autumn. There was a reason that until recently he lived where the sun always shined and it was never cold. Just because sun and sand didn’t seem so appealing anymore, it did not make him like the chilly, dead-leaf-covered, pumpkin-spice-flavored time of the year. 

It was a personal affront that he was being forced to walk through central park on a fine example of a drizzly autumn day. Just because he wanted to hold an event there, did not mean he should be forced to trudge through the place. It was cold and wet. Leaves kept on sticking to his loafers and it was awful. No one was even around except for some clearly insane joggers. 

He didn’t know how anyone could possibly like the season, there were only two significant holidays and they weren’t even that great. Halloween, well, that was okay, even if he never seemed to get a chance to dress up like he wanted and always had to attend some charity function or another. But Thanksgiving! That was the worst. Tony didn’t even celebrate it anymore since he didn’t have a family to do it with, but as far he was concerned he dodged a bullet on that one. It was nothing but an overly complicated, painful, and superficial family dinner. Exactly like all the other dinners with his parents, but with the press there as well.

The rain was starting to soak through Tony’s jacket. He really wished he had grabbed that damn umbrella from Happy, but he had been in too much of a rush to get away from Pepper’s nagging about the upcoming board meeting. He knew what they thought of him, what he was going to show them would blow their minds anyway. Stark Industries was going to lead the clean energy revolution.

A shiver ran up Tony’s spine. The wind was brisk, and a three piece suit did little to keep you warm if it was wet. Tony stopped walking. He couldn’t attend the meeting like this, Pepper was just going to have to reschedule with them, because it wasn’t happening. He fished out his phone from his pocket, extremely glad that his product had the best waterproofing on the market. He dialed Pepper from his contacts, to let her know that making her CEO go out on a rainy autumn day was work place abuse. 

While Tony waited for the call to go through, he turned, and started making his way back to where Happy can pick him up. He was walking into the wind now, and the rain seemed to have picked up a bit. He heard Pepper answer and start to say something; he didn’t get any farther than that because he slipped on a goddamn leaf. 

Tony was sure he was going to fall, and he wanted to laugh, because what kind of joke is that? But instead his face is buried in between a pair of glorious pecs. Someone, presumably the person the pecs were attached to, gripped him by the shoulders to steady him. Tony looked up at who he collided with; it was the peak of human perfection in a rain coat tossed over some jogging gear. 

The man was taller than Tony, but only by a few inches, really that was all, Tony wasn’t short. Though, looking up into this wonder’s eyes, he wouldn’t exactly mind being short, at least comparative to this guy. He had this good natured apple pie sort of look that made him seem gentle and non-offensive even when he was looming over Tony. It was actually kind of hot, which was weird because he wasn’t normally into that.

“Are you okay?” asked the most beautiful man Tony had ever seen. 

Tony gripped his phone, then dazedly said, “Pepper, I can’t make it to the meeting,” before he hung up. 

Pulling himself together, Tony said the first thing that came to mind. “Yeah, I just took a trip. I hope I don’t have to wait until next fall to see you again though.”

“Are you hitting on me?” The man said, a slight smile graced his rosy lips. “Because that was horrible.”

“Sorry, I was too awestruck by your pectoral muscles to come up with anything better,” Tony quipped, but it wasn’t even a lie. His muscles, his blue eyes, even his damp hair, it all entranced Tony.

“You did smack into them pretty hard.” The man said laughingly, but then he frowned. “You look pretty cold. Do you need some place to dry off?”

Tony realized he was shivering, not just a couple of chills like before, but constantly. “Are you offering?”

“I guess so. My place is just a few blocks past the park.” He pointed roughly north, toward Harlem. “I’m Steve Rogers by the way.”

Steve looked at Tony expectantly. Tony stared at Steve blankly, or at least he hoped it was blankly because if any of his thoughts were being reflected on his face he had a decent chance of getting a sexual harassment law suit. Then it clicked what Steve was waiting for. “Tony Stark.” 

Tony was a little surprised to have to introduce himself, but it happened sometimes. Some people forget that celebrities are actual people and just don’t expect to see them out in ‘the real world.’ Steve still didn’t seem to catch on and started leading Tony back to him home. He could be one of those people that lived in total seclusion from the media, but Tony didn’t want to fall into the trap of getting his hopes up about making a true first impression. More likely than not, Steve would realize who he was and have some sort of opinion about it.

A few blocks turned out to be a lot farther than Tony expected and he probably would have been miserable, but Steve was there. He was telling Tony about his apartment and his roommates. It honestly should have bored Tony, but he spoke about them with such warmth that Tony couldn’t help but listen. 

The apartment was old, probably-was-around-during-WWII old. It was obviously renovated sometime in the 70’s or 80’s, but also just as obviously it hadn’t had any more recent renovations or dusting. Tony very carefully did not touch the handrail going up the stairs. He’d take engine grease over that stuff any day.

Tony was a bit winded by the time they reached Steve’s apartment on the fourth floor. It’s not that he was out of shape, okay. He just was wet and cold and had some heart and lung problems. He was still learning to pace himself. 

The front door led directly into the kitchen, which blocked off the view of most of Steve’s apartment. What Tony was able to see was in good repair, but the windows were pressed up close to the side of the next building over, making the three bedroom apartment dim until the lights were turned on. 

“Here it is.” Steve spread his arms, gesturing to his home. He glanced at Tony. “If you’ll just wait there a moment, I’ll grab some stuff for you.”

Steve disappeared into one of the rooms in the back of the apartment. Tony could faintly hear him rummaging around, when he came back, he directed Tony to the bathroom to get changed.  
“I’ve left a towel and a change of clothes in there for you. Hopefully they’ll fit.”

The mirror over the sink reflected Tony’s waterlogged appearance back at him. Tony shivered again; the apartment wasn’t much warmer than outside, clearly someone wasn’t using their central heating. Having had enough of that, he quickly stripped and dried off with the faded towel.

Tony picked up the red sweat pants and sweater that Steve had left him. They smelled like cheap detergent, manly musk, and sunshine. He was a little embarrassed at how big the pants were on him, but he decided to rock it. He could make anything good, even rolled up cuffs and a sagging waistband. The sweater had a much better fit, though the rich blue yarn was a little frayed in places. Tony wasn’t quite sure if the yellow star on the front was childish or striking.

His suit was lying crumpled in the bathtub when he came out of the bathroom. It was getting wrinkled and his stylist and dry cleaner would probably complain, which meant Pepper was going to lecture him, but he decided everyone was going to have to get over it. 

Steve looked at his wadded up suit. “I guess that needs to be dry cleaned…”

“Don’t worry about it; I’ll have it taken care of later.” He’d rather not trouble Steve with the details of that.

“But what are you going to wear home? You can’t go out in that.” Steve ran his eyes over Tony and blushed adorably.

Tony waved dismissively. “I’ll call someone. They can bring me a change of clothes.”

“If you’re sure…” Steve abruptly turned and went back into his kitchen. “I can make some coffee or tea, that’d help warm you up.”

Tony followed him into the kitchen. “I’ll have coffee.”

The apartment was silent except for the hissing of the coffee maker and the cars honking outside and somebody playing the base a few floors away, okay so it wasn’t exactly silent, but neither of them was saying anything. Finished texting his plea for clothes to Pepper, Tony desperately looked around the apartment to think of something to say that wouldn’t just be about the very dirty things he wanted to do to Steve. His eyes landed on a corner of the room set up like an art studio, complete with an easel and a box of paints. On the easel he saw a painting of a city decorated with autumn leaves. The dappled oranges and yellows came together to create the impression of beaten gold, combined with a few patches of bright red leaves, the foliage was a stark contrast to the dingy buildings. Maybe it was the storefronts or maybe it was just the character of the people on the streets, but for some indefinable reason, it looked like somewhere in New York.

“Did you paint that?”

“I sometimes paint in my spare time. I figure I might as well put my art school degree to use somewhere.” Steve started blushing again. Then he cleared his throat, and continued. “That is actually the third in a series of paintings about autumn in New York.”

Steve was somehow pressing every button that Tony didn’t know he had. Really, he didn’t think blushing, muscular, blond artists did it for him, but apparently he was willing to follow this one home like a puppy.

Tony tried not to sound like he was swooning. “That’s amazing.” He might have failed. The smile he got from Steve for that comment was worth it though. 

The coffee maker went off and Steve went about pouring two mugs of coffee as he said, “I’ve had a lot of inspiration. My mother used to take me around to look at all the leaves as they changed color. I always loved how excited she got about helping with my costume for Halloween or cooking for Thanksgiving. It was something I looked forward to every year.”

That actually sounded very sweet. It also sounded like something from some idyllic world Tony was not a part of, but Tony recognized the hint of sadness in the way Steve was talking about his mother. That kind of loss was something he could relate to.

A mug of coffee was placed on the table in front of Tony. “I’ve got cream and sugar if you want it.”

Steve was already stirring some into his mug, but Tony shook his head. “No, this is fine. Thanks.”

There was a beat of silence as they both sipped their coffee. Then Tony picked the thread of their conversation back up and said, “I bet you went apple picking too. That’s a thing people do, right?”

“We went when we could. As soon as it got cool, Mom would make me wear these sweaters she knitted for me. I could fit so many apples in them.” Steve laughed and explained, “I was a tiny kid, but she always made huge sweaters, insisting that I’d shoot right up to fit them any day. She never did get to see me out grow the last few she made.”

Tony looked down at what he was wearing. “Then is this…?”

Steve ran his fingers through his hair and nodded a little sadly. “It’s too small for me now, but I couldn’t bear to throw it out.”

“You must have loved your mom.” Tony knew a bit about that. His mother wasn’t always there for him, but when she was, there was no one he’d rather have been with.

Before Steve could respond, there was the click of the door to the apartment being unlocked. It swung open and a man with long brown hair shuffled in, holding a damp umbrella in his right hand, his left arm was missing. He looked suspiciously at the two of them before breaking into a grin. 

“You didn’t tell me you were having somebody over.”

“This is Tony. I met him today, while I was out running. He needed a place to dry off,” Steve said in a rush, clearly a bit embarrassed. 

“Mmmhmm. That sure was nice of you, Stevie.” The man nodded, smiling like a cat that got the canary. 

So this was the childhood friend that went into the army and was now living with Steve. Tony wasn’t sure what he expected, but it wasn’t this. It was probably the shaggy hair throwing him off, every military man he knew kept their hair short. 

“Yeah, Steve’s a real stand-up guy, taking home a stray like myself,” Tony said, holding out his hand. “You must be Bucky, Steve told me a bit about you.”

“He’s always had a weak spot for those in need.” Bucky took Tony’s hand and shook it with more force than necessary. “I just hope it never comes back to bite him.”

Bucky’s eyes were cold, even as the rest of his face was smiling. It’s not like Tony didn’t see it coming, but this guy had quite the protective streak. 

“With you at his side? He’ll be fine.”

Bucky’s eyes warmed a couple of degrees. “You’re not bad.”

“Buck, I don’t need you vetting everyone I happen to meet. I can take care of myself.”

“They need vetting if you’re bringing ‘em back to the apartment. You’re too trusting, you big sap.”

Tony’s phone went off. He checked his messages, and sees a text from Pepper detailing exactly what she’d do to him if he didn’t get into the car waiting for him outside the apartment. “It looks like my ride is here. I’ll send back the clothes I’m borrowing.”

Leaving was probably for the best. He’d been reckless enough following someone he just met home. Tony may feel a connection, but there was no telling what Steve was actually like. Even if he was as perfect as he seemed, getting involved with Tony would give Steve nothing but trouble.

Steve surprised Tony by saying, “You don’t have to.”

Tony’s head snapped up to look at Steve. “What?”

“The clothes. You don’t have to send them back,” Steve said. Bucky was openly staring at him and Tony was sure he was doing the same.

“Don’t you want the sweater?” Tony could tell how important it was to Steve.

Steve fidgeted bashfully. “I have more, you can keep that one.”

Bucky, from where he was leaning against the kitchen counter, said, “You should come by next Thursday. We always enjoy having another face at Thanksgiving. Sam always makes too much mashed potatoes.”

“I’m sure Tony is busy with his own family that day and won’t have time to spend it with people he’s only met once,” Steve said, glaring at Bucky.

Tony thought of all the reasons he should turn down the invitation, and then said, “Actually that sounds great. I’d like to come, if you don’t mind.”

Steve’s mouth dropped open. His face ran through about five different expressions before settling on a wide grin. “I’d love it,” he blurted. Then more normally, he said, “I mean, you’re welcome to come back anytime.”

“Thanks.” Tony exited the kitchen and Steve’s apartment, leaving them behind, but only temporarily. 

Later, when he was sitting in the very same kitchen with a plate scraped clean of food, listening to Steve’s friends and roommates argue about the ideal pie, Tony thought that the fall wasn’t so bad, it was how he met Steve. And even later than that, he also admitted that pumpkin spice tasted alright when it was in a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm debating writing a sequel titled "What Happened to Tony's Suit: A Story of Mistaken Identities."
> 
> UPDATE: I wrote the sequel. It's not quite what I planned, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
> 
> Update #2: I wrote a kinda sorta related drabble here: [Steve Finds One More Reason (Or a Thousand) To Love The Fall](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8535535/chapters/28055826)


End file.
